Hattby bobebtson



L. ATWOOD.

, TLE STOPPER. 7 No. 351,730. Patented Nov. 2,1886.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

,LEONARD ATWOOD, on NEW YORK, N. Y., AssIGNoR or ONE-HALF To HARRY. ROBERTSON, .OF SAME PLACE.

BOTTLE-STOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 351,730, dated November 2,1886.

Application filed March 13, 1885. Serial No. 158,685. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEONARD A'rwoon, of the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, have'invented a new and useful Improvement in Bottle-Stoppers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates more particularly to means for stopping bottles which are filled with soda-water and other aeratedliquids, and which are commonly filled and have their corks driven in at one operation by a fillingmachine; but the invention is also applicable to all bottles wherein it is desirable to employ some means for preventing the cork from being forced out by internal pressure.

The object of my invention is to provide a more simple fastener for securing corks in hot tles, which may be applied by the operation of forcing in the cork, and which will not require any subsequent manipulation after the bottle istaken from the filling-machine in order "to render the fastening secure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fasteningwhich shall be so inexpensive that it may beused once and thrown away without any materialloss, and hence the contents of the bottle will not be impaired or injured by rusty and corroded appliances which are inseparable from the bottle and which are repeatedly used.

The invention consists, essentially, in'the combination,with abottle having in its month, near the top, a circumferential groove, of a cork fitting the mouth of the bottle below the groove, and an expanding spring-follower made separate from but bearing upon the cork and adapted to be forced into the bottle with the cork, and which, as soon as it passes the circumferential groove or seat, will spring outward thereinto and oppose a strong resistance to any outward movement of the cork or stopper. Such a follower will oppose sufficient resistance to an outward movement of the cork to prevent it from being blown out accidentally, but will not prevent the cork from being readily taken out by a corkscrew.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of the neck of a bottle with my improved stopper-fastener applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan of one form of expanding spring-follower which I may employ. Fig. 3

, yielding edge.

is a sectional view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating an expanding spring-follower of modified form,also embodying my invention. Fig. 4 is a plan of the follower shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional'view, similar to Figs. 1 and 3, illustrating still another form of expanding spring-follower; and Fig. 6 is a plan of the expanding follower shown in Fig. 5.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

A designates the neck portion of a .bottle such as is usually employed for soda-water,

lager-beer, and other beveragesand which has in its mouth or near its end acircumferential or annular groove or seat, a, which may be blown or molded therein. The upper side of this groove or seat is preferably square or fiat, and the lower side may beinclined, as represented.

B designates a stopper or cork, which may be made of cork-wood or other yielding or soft material, and which may be tightly driven into the mouth of the bottle, and above this cork or stopper is an expanding spring-follower, O. This follower is made in such form that it may be driven into the mouth of the bottle with and above the cork,,.and will, as

or disk, which may be of tin or other sheet 7 metal, and which has a number of projecting .ears or points, 0, which give it an elastic or WVhen the follower is driven with the cork in the bottle, these points or ears 0 will yield readily to permit the follower to seat'a is that it forms a square and positive abutment, against which the follower may bear. I have shown at the center of the follower 0 a small hole, 0, and when the cork is to be removed a corkscrew may be introduced through this hole into the cork, and by force applied to it the cork may be withdrawn, the hold of the follower in the groove or seat being overcome.

The follower G, which I have represented in Figs. 8 and 4, consists simply of a disk-shaped piece of india-rubber, cloth, or packing material, the edge of which will yield to permit the follower to pass down to the seat or groove a, and will then spring outward thereinto. This follower also has a small central hole, 0, through which the corkscrew may be introduced.

The follower represented in Figs. 5 and 6 is a ring or annular pieceof metal, 0, having at one side a gap or opening, 0", which permits it to expand and contract. This follower, also, may be readily forced downward into the mouth of the bottle, and will then spring outward into the groove or seat a.

It will be seen that inasmuch as my invention enables the whole operation of closing and securing the contents to be performed by the descending plunger of a filling-machine, that I enable liquids to be bottled at much less expense, and it will also be seen that my follower is so cheap and inexpensive that it need not be reused, and hence those parts which are employed in closing the bottle will always be new and fresh.

The follower C may be made of small scraps of sheet-tin, which are of no value for other purposcs;or, if made of rubber packing, scraps may be used, which have but little value.

I am aware of patent to Spencer, No. 212,064, granted February 4, 1879, for a sheet-metal can, and which shows a can having its upper edge beaded so as to form an internal shoulder,

' and an internal groove or corrugation of larger diameter than the shoulder above the same. The cover of this can consists of a fiat disk of metal which rests upon the internal shoulder, and which is held in place by a wire inserted in the annular groove or corrugation above the shoulder. My invention is distinguished from this method of closing a can, in that I employ a bottle having an ordinary mouth, save that near its top it has an annular groove; but below this groove the mouth is of cylindric or slightly taper form, so that an ordinary cork may be driven tightly thereinto.

I am also aware of patent to Watson, No. 305,988, dated September 30, 1884, which shows an internally-grooved bottlemouth, having arranged therein avalvular stopper of complicated construction, which is provided with a rubber packing-ring, and which has an expanding metal ring fitting a groove in the stopper, and also entering the groove in the bottle-mouth. This expanding ring is not separate from the packing-ring, and does not rest upon the top of the stopper; and hence this stopper, with its expanding ring, cannot be driven into the bottle by the ordinary reciprocating filling nozzle or plunger of a bottle-filling machine.

The essential object of my invention was to provide a fastener or securing device which could be used in connection with an ordinary cork, and which was so combined with the corkz'. 0., made separate and resting on the top of the cork-that it, with the cork, could be driven into the bottle by an ordinary movable filling nozzle or plunger of a bottle-filling machine; and, furthermore, to provide a fastener which was so cheap that it could be thrown away after being once used. Neither of the patents referred to fulfill these differences. Neither of them show a simple ordinary cork which is driveninto the mouth of a bottle below the groove.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combinatiomwith a bottle having in its month, near the top, a circumferential groove, ofa cork fitting the mouth below the groove, and an expanding spring-follower, made separate from the cork and bearin g uponthe top of the cork and in the groove, and adapted to be forced into the bottle with the cork and to spring outward into the groove, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

2. The eombination,with a bottle having in its month, near the top, a circumferential groove, of a cork fitting the mouth below the groove, and an expanding spring follower, made separate from the cork and bearing on the top of the cork and in the groove, and having a .hole in it through which a corkscrew may be inserted, and which is forced into the bottle with the cork, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

3. The combination,with a bottle having in its month, near the top, a circumferential groove, (1, of a cork, B, and an expanding spring-follower, 0, made of sheet metal and separate from the cork, and having radiallyprojecting points or ears 0, engaging the groove a, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

LEONARD ATVVOOD.

Witnesses:

O. HALL, FREDK. HAYNES. 

